Imminent Danger Pay changes

[Fifty-six & Two]

Those clowns at the CAOC will now have to deploy to the actual combat zone to get their extra $225 a month:

https://www.stripes.com/news/dod-announces-changes-to-imminent-danger-pay-1.260479

WASHINGTON – On Friday, the Defense Department announced that many areas will be removed from the list of places where U.S. servicemembers qualify for imminent danger pay.

“Today we are announcing the recertification of some locations as Imminent Danger Pay areas while we are discontinuing that designation for others,” Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren told reporters.

Of the areas previously designated for IDP, about one-third were decertified. IDP is intended to provide compensation bonuses to servicemembers deployed in locations that are relatively dangerous.

The following land areas and the airspace above them were decertified: Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Montenegro.

The following land areas were decertified: East Timor, Haiti, Liberia, Oman, Rwanda, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

The following sea areas were decertified: Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf (including the airspace above the Persian Gulf).

The following areas were recertified for IDP: Afghanistan (including airspace), Algeria, Azerbaijan, Burundi, Chad, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Greece (Athens only), Indonesia, Iran, Iraq (including airspace), Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya (including airspace), Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia (including airspace), Sudan (including airspace), Syria, Tunisia (including airspace), Turkey, Uganda, Yemen, Mediterranean Sea, and Somalia Basin.

Some countries are on the IDP list even though the U.S. doesn’t have any servicemembers deployed in those countries, including Syria and Iran.

The changes will take effect June 1 in the U.S. Central Command, U.S. European Command, U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Southern Command, and U.S. Pacific Command areas of responsibility.

The IDP recertification review process began in 2011 and included an in-depth threat assessment from the combatant commands in coordination with the Joint Staff and the military services. The last time the IDP list was changed was 2011. It is an ongoing assessment, Warren said.

In 2012, (the last year for which IDP statistics are available), about 194,000 service members received IDP. Approximately 50,000 service members will be impacted after these changes are made, according to DOD spokesman LCDR Nate Christensen.

In 2012, DOD spent approximately $500 million on IDP. This policy change will save DOD $108 million per year, officials said.

Warren said these IDP cuts were not driven by budgetary concerns.

The current IDP rate is $7.50 per day, with a maximum IDP of $225 per month. Those numbers will not change, Christensen said.

Experts told Stars and Stripes that IDP criteria make little sense.

“Our men and women help to bring peace and stability to many places, and just because Imminent Danger Pay is discontinued doesn’t suddenly make those countries, waters or airspaces any more safe. One can only hope that this decision was done based on real world threat assessments and not for fiscal reasons,” Joe Davis, the Public Affairs Director for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said in an email to Stars and Stripes.

Lawrence Korb, a military budget expert at the Center for American Progress, believes that budget constraints did play a role in the policy change, but he supports the IDP rollback.

“I think what’s happened is that the sequester and the budget cuts really have forced the department to do things they should have been doing anyway,” he said.

Korb thinks IDP has been too generously distributed.

“You got combat pay in Bahrain. I was in Bahrain a couple weeks ago. I’d sooner be there than some of the cities in the United States [when it comes to personal safety],” he said in an interview with Stars and Stripes.

DOD also announced that, effective June 1, Hardship Duty Pay-Location monthly rates in East Timor, Haiti, Liberia, Montenegro, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will be increased to $150. The HDP-L monthly rate in Bahrain is established at $50, according to a memo signed on Dec. 31 by Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Jessica Wright.

HDP-L is intended to compensate servicemembers who are deployed in areas where living conditions are poor.

[Fuzz]

Call bullshit on decertifying one of those locations, if you have to wear body armor I think is a good enough reason to receive IDP (granted it doesn't take place for another 6 months).

[Ram]

This policy change will save DOD $108 million per year, officials said.

Aw yiss...that's one more F-35, boys! Let's go find us some more purses to squeeze so we can get ourselves a 4-ship!

Yee HAW!

[pcola]

They haven't fucked with the CZTE have they?

[tunes]

They haven't ######ed with the CZTE have they?

different pot of money......

[Dupe]

different pot of money......

...Not even a pot of money at all. There's no Personnel funding line for CZTE.

Its more like a very small hole in a very large bucket.

[tunes]

...Not even a pot of money at all. There's no Personnel funding line for CZTE.

Its more like a very small hole in a very large bucket.

the way it was explained to me was that CZTE is IRS money and has 0 impact on the DOD budget.

[Homestar]

The following areas were recertified for IDP: Afghanistan (including airspace), Algeria, Azerbaijan, Burundi, Chad, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Greece (Athens only), Indonesia, Iran, Iraq (including airspace), Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya (including airspace), Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia (including airspace), Sudan (including airspace), Syria, Tunisia (including airspace), Turkey, Uganda, Yemen, Mediterranean Sea, and Somalia Basin.

What's going on in Athens?

[lj35driver]

Those clowns at the CAOC will now have to deploy to the actual combat zone to get their extra $225 a month:

Thanks, dickhead. The vast majority of us don't go to the CAOC by choice and we all question the validity of this place when our CENTCOM counterparts do their jobs from stateside locations and garden spots like Larissa, Tampistan, and Vokel. That's an old argument that no one in leadership will entertain.

In other news, Detroit, Oakland, and all U.S.-Mexican border duty locations will be added to the stateside IDP list and Clovis, NM now qualifies for HDP-L.

Edited January 4, 2014 by lj35driver

[Fifty-six & Two]

Thanks, dickhead. The vast majority of us don't go to the CAOC by choice and we all question the validity of this place when our CENTCOM counterparts do their jobs from stateside locations and garden spots like Larissa, Tampistan, and Vokel. That's an old argument that no one in leadership will entertain.

In other news, Detroit, Oakland, and all U.S.-Mexican border duty locations will be added to the stateside IDP list and Clovis, NM now qualifies for HDP-L.

Why so angry? The BRA run out of Strongbow?

The "clowns" comment was directed at the people who impede the mission and make it more difficult than it needs to be. Unless you are one of the guys who fall into that category and the comment rings true, GFY. I'm sure you've had a few choice words about the folks at TACC who do that exact same thing, so get over it.

[DeHavilland]

DoD pays for the IDP, while it is the IRS the gets shorted by the CZTE. DoD can Change the IDP, but Congress, the same folks that just cut your retiree COLA, would have to change the tax code to effect the CZTE.

[Smokin]

What's going on in Athens?

Anarchists and others who have been trying to overthrow the government for years. Not sure if it is still this bad, but a few years ago, if you flew into the Athens airport, you had a 50/50 shot of walking past a full up police riot bus with cops just sitting on call. They don't really care about Americans, but a car bomb doesn't discriminate. The tourist areas are safe because even anarchists want jobs, but I wouldn't chose to hang out near Greek government buildings and such. Probably similar threat level to the Basque region in Spain.

[Skitzo]

<br /><br /> <br />In other news, Detroit, Oakland, and all U.S.-Mexican border duty locations will be added to the stateside IDP list and Clovis, NM now qualifies for HDP-L.

<br /><br />Excellent!

[Clark Griswold]

What's going on in Athens?

Restless natives.

Edited January 5, 2014 by Clark Griswold

[Finance_Guy]

They haven't fucked with the CZTE have they?

Typically you have to be authorized IDP to get CZTE--only a few rare cases which are the airspace over a few seas (Red & Arabian?) . If they have decertified IDP then most likely the CZTE goes away too. Would be hard to claim an area remains a combat zone while taking away the IDP. Double banger here--DoD saves $108M and the FEDs (IRS) gets a lot more.

RE: DODFMR Vol 7a, Chapter 44, para 440103.b.5.b

Edit: I sent the question to our AF Pay Policy POC--they are asking OSD if any executive orders on combat zones will be changed.

Edited January 6, 2014 by Finance_Guy

[nsplayr]

No more tax free or IDP will certainly make those deployments to the Deid or Manas more enjoyable!

[Fifty-six & Two]

No more tax free or IDP will certainly make those deployments to the Deid or Manas more enjoyable!

I believe Manas will be pretty much done by then.

[Tonka]

I believe Manas will be pretty much done by then.

I have it on good authority that these wars will be over by 2012.

[ComingLeft]

Those clowns at the CAOC will now have to deploy to the actual combat zone to get their extra $225 a month:

Disclaimer: I am at the CAOC.

You could guess someone's AFSC by their reaction to this.

[Butters]

I have it on good authority that these wars will be over by 2012.

Heard the same thing, but they didn't say if it was 2012 of this year or next.

[DeHavilland]

Asking the OSD if folks should lose the CZTE is a question maybe better off not asked.

[Fuzz]

Asking the OSD if folks should lose the CZTE is a question maybe better off not asked.

Until they figure it out and then suddenly you owe $6,900 in back taxes and subsequently have your entire paycheck garnished because you know, no one has bills to pay or needs money for food.

[pcola]

Asking the OSD if folks should lose the CZTE is a question maybe better off not asked.

Agree. Wish I could put that cat back in the bag...had no idea someone would have the ridiculously horrible idea of posing the question to OSD.

[Finance_Guy]

Until they figure it out and then suddenly you owe $6,900 in back taxes and subsequently have your entire paycheck garnished because you know, no one has bills to pay or needs money for food.

Well the going in position for CPTS is that when IDP for those locations goes away effective 1 June '14, so will the CZTE. So the question to OSD is to determine if there will be an exception granted to keep CZTE even though there is no IDP. So plan on IDP and CZTE going away on 1 Jun unless you hear otherwise. Rules would have to be changed to specifically authorize CZTE even though the area is not an IDP area. So Fuzz, if you continue to receive IDP and CZTE for one of those areas after 1 June consider yourself notified you will owe money.

[Hueypilot]

I now have absolutely zero reason to deploy ever again.

On another note, I assume if you're flying out of one of those "non-combat" locations and fly to Afghanistan or another IDP location, you'd be eligible for both the IDP and CTZE, correct?